Free Republic

In a previously unpublicized transcript from 2004, the Illinois State Senate specifically linked then US Senator-Elect Barack Obama with corrupt politician and Rod Blagojevich ally Emil Jones Jr. More than simply connecting the two, the transcript specifically calls Jones Mr. Obama's "mentor" and his "political godfather." The transcript was written on November 8, 2004, soon after Mr. Obama was elected to the United States Senate. Ironically, the subject of the section in which the soon-to-be Senator was linked to Jones was written in praise of Mr. Obama. The quote comes from Senate Resolution 716, which was in place to congratulate...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is dumping all three city members of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority — including former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew — in a housecleaning that could set the stage to renegotiate the White Sox lease, modify its restaurant deal and, possibly, have the state acquire and renovate Wrigley Field.

As animated as ever, Adam has turned his questioning to Rod's alleged attempt to appoint Emil Jones, then-president of the state senate, to Barack Obama's vacant U.S. senate seat in exchange for Jones not calling a state ethics bill for a vote. Adam noted that the alleged deal was discussed in September 2008, before Obama won the presidential election. "President Obama hadn't won yet. He couldn't make a deal to do something until he had the ability to do it, could he?" Adam asked. Adam then turned to allegations that Blagojevich tried to shake down contractors for $500,000 in contributions...

Once Chris Kelly was charged in 2007, Rod Blagojevich took a more direct and active role in fund-raising, Monk said. Blagojevich picked up the phone and called people himself. He was more active. Then the brakes were going to be put on him. The Illinois Legislature in 2008 passed a far-reaching ethics bill that would keep him from soliciting donations from people who did business with the state. After Jan. 1, 2009, there was a fairly large group of donors who were no longer able to give him money Blagojevich thought: "It was overreaching and unfair because it focused only...

According to an internal correspondence sent to me confidentially, Reverend Finney, the head of the board of trustees, was putting pressure on several members of the Human Resources department at Chicago State University.By the end of May, the Director of HR was summarily dismissed and that position remains unfilled today at that public school. Meanwhile, because the Director of HR was dismissed without cause, they are still earning a severance from CSU. Since CSU is a public school, that means this severance is paid for by the tax payers.

This is an email sent to me by a source from Chicago State University. Dr. Finney – Yesterday I had a conversation with Dr. Brooks regarding your concern that CSU has hired full time employees, which she states is a violation of your directive of May 4, 2009 in a meeting with her, Dr. Justmann, Dr. Westbrooks, and myself. Specifically, she stated that it was your opinion that I, as the Director of Human Resources, have circumvented the hiring system by hiring candidates who were not just part time faculty for the summer. I called you yesterday and you stated...

Emil Jones is probably the most famous former sewer worker since the late Art Carney portrayed Ed Norton on “The Honeymooners” television program. According to his peers, Jones is, arguably, half as smart as Ralph Kramden‘s boon companion. Jones reciprocated Watson‘s worshipful toadying. While in public office, Jones served as a reliable conduit for the funding of public colleges and universities serving predominantly black student populations, such as Chicago State University and the City Colleges. Not surprisingly, in recent years, both institutions have been loudly criticized for operating as patronage hiring halls that specialize in wasting tax dollars. During his...

The arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich in December cast a shadowy light on the relationships among four leading players in the Illinois Democratic Party—Blagojevich, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and David Axelrod. The new president and his two aides would like to minimize their dealings with the disgraced ex-governor. But the record tells a more complex story By David Bernstein (page 1 of 4) In the days following his arrest on corruption charges last December 9th, Governor Rod Blagojevich did his best to appear busy. He visited his 16th-floor suite at the Thompson Center, once even showing up in a jogging...

A report at the link below states that: Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid (pictured) made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis and Emil Jones are all three black. Reid’s choices are Lisa Madigan who is white and Tammy Duckworth is Vietnamese. Harry Reid says he is concerned about the ability of the appointee to win election in 2010. However, there will always be...

Suppose you're Bashir Assad or Putin, and you watch the Blago Blowup, a month before the next president even takes office. What are you thinking right now? First, Obama looks vulnerable to blackmail. His homey network is full of people who can't stand the light of day. They know all kinds of things the leftist media suppress -- people like Auchi (the Iraqi billionaire), Rezko (the corrupt Syrian multimillionaire), Emil Jones (the Godfather of Southside), and the whole Daley Machine. That's not even counting the freaky radicals or the pols Obama has surrounded himself with. Mayor Daley's brother is one...

"We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator." With these taped words, Gov. Blagojevich may have placed a major Illinois political figure -- Senate Candidate 5 -- in legal jeopardy. But who is Senate Candidate 5"? Ben Smith of The Politico tells us that, based on the tape, the mystery candidate answers to the following description: -publicly reported to be interested in the open Senate seat - not who Blagojevich thought Obama wanted -...

Illinois Senate President Emil Jones has become the front runner to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the United States Senate, a source told FOX News. Jones, 73, served in the House of the Illinois General Assembly for 10 years until 1983 before joining the state Senate, where he's been ever since. He has four children with his late wife, Patricia. Jones reportedly told a radio station that he is interested in Obama's seat. "Yes, I am interested, but I'm not out there promoting it," he said. "I'm letting my record stand for itself as it relates to education, health care...

In 1985, Barack Obama traveled halfway across the country to take a job that he didn't fully understand. But, while he knew little about his new vocation--community organizer--it still had a romantic ring, at least to his 24-year-old ears. With his old classmates from Columbia, he had talked frequently about political change. Now, he was moving to Chicago to put that talk into action. His 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, recounts his idealistic effusions: "Change won't come from the top, I would say. Change will come from a mobilized grass roots. That's what I'll do. I'll organize black folks....

It's not quite eight in the morning and Barack Obama is on the phone screaming at me. He liked the story I wrote about him a couple weeks ago, but not this garbage. Now here he is blasting me from hundreds of miles away for a story that just went online but hasn't yet hit local newsstands. It's a lengthy record filled with core liberal issues. But what's interesting, and almost never discussed, is that he built his entire legislative record in Illinois in a single year. Republicans controlled the Illinois General Assembly for six years of Obama's seven-year tenure....

There has been little discussion during this campaign of Obama surrogate and his admitted mentor Emil Jones. Jones is currently the Illinois Senate Majority Leader and responsible for first pushing Obama to run for office and then the US Senate. As Senate Majority Leader, Jones has proven to be one of the most divisive figures in Illinois Politics as a right-hand man of the unpopular Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. In recent weeks, while facing a backlash from his own party, Jones announced that he was retiring from politics; a move that well-received by the public who overwhelmingly did not approve...

Racial infighting among Democrats, which marred the presidential primaries, has flared up again at the party’s convention in Denver, where a black Hillary Clinton delegate is accusing a black Barack Obama delegate of calling her an “Uncle Tom.” Delmarie Cobb of Chicago told FOX News Monday that Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, whom Obama called his “political godfather,” hurled the racially charged insult against her late Saturday for speaking out in support of Clinton. Although Democrats at the convention are trying to project an image of unity, there is lingering bitterness between the Clinton and Obama camps, in part because...

Plenty of people know who Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, and Tony Rezko are, but Senator Barack Obama's got another friend stirring a new controversy—his mentor, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones. Jones is accused of calling a Hillary supporter and Chicago political consultant an "Uncle Tom." After refusing to apologize, he later offered a semi-apology, ONLY after being offered a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention by Obama. This is the latest in a string of Obama's associates who have been publically discredited for crimes, bigotry, and anti-Americanism. "Being president means making personal judgments about the character and intentions of...

The chief of Illinois’ National Organization for Women chapter today called on Barack Obama’s “political godfather” to resign immediately from the Illinois state Senate for calling an African-American Hillary Clinton delegate an “Uncle Tom.” “That was a pretty horrible comment,” said Illinois NOW president Bonnie Grabenhofer, also a Clinton delegate, who issued the demand for Senate President Emil Jones’ resignation. Feminists who make up the Illinois Clinton delegate contingent at the Democratic National Convention were outraged to learn of today’s exclusive Chicago Sun-Times report about Clinton delegate Delmarie Cobb’s accusation that Jones directed the racially loaded slur at her. The...

DENVER -- A black Hillary Clinton delegate on Sunday accused state Senate President Emil Jones of calling her an "Uncle Tom." Jones -- Barack Obama's political mentor -- denied using the racially loaded slur against Chicago political consultant Delmarie Cobb, but two aldermen who said they witnessed the Saturday night exchange back up Cobb's account. "Last night, I was called an 'Uncle Tom' by Emil Jones in the lobby of the hotel, right in front of [Ald.] Freddrenna Lyle and [Ald.] Leslie Hairston and [Ald.] Latasha Thomas," said Cobb, a member of Clinton's Illinois Steering Committee. "I walked over to...

The Chicago Sun Times was first to report Monday that two aldermen said they heard Emil Jones, who is also black, call political consultant Delmarie Cobb "Uncle Tom".Cobb told FOX News on Monday that she will vote for Clinton on the first ballot. She said after Clinton releases her delegates on Wednesday, Cobb will vote for Obama. When Cobb walked away to get on the elevator, she said she heard Jones shout, “Uncle Tom.” She said she turned around and walked back to Jones, where he was sitting with a few other Chicago city council alderman, and asked him, “Did...